Nigeria’s currency, the naira, continued its upward gain on Friday, strengthening to N950/$ in the parallel market.
This represents a N170 gain or a 15.18 percent appreciation of the local currency compared to the N1,120 it traded for on Thursday. This is also the second day of recovery for the naira following a move by the Central Bank of Nigeria to clear some of its FX backlog on Thursday.
Some traders said they bought at N900/$ but sold at N950.
President of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadabe, affirmed to The PUNCH on Thursday that the CBN’s move to clear some of its backlog has been responsible for the firming of the naira.
He said, “Yes, this is because of the CBN’s move to clear its backlogs. There is a kind signal in the market. The CBN should continue to make clarifications.”
On Thursday, The PUNCH reported that the apex bank of the country had commenced the payment of outstanding matured FX forwards owed to various creditors.
Unconfirmed sources noted that three banks, namely Citi Bank, Stanbic IBTC, and Standard Chartered Bank, received full payment of debts owed from the CBN.